Branko — Atlas (September 04, 2015) 
♦ Lisbon producer on his debut solo album...
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Album release: September 04, 2015
Record Label: Enchufada
Duration: 40:39
Tracks:
01 Atlas (feat. The Clerk) 3:32
02 Let Me Go (feat. Nonku Phiri & Mr. Carmack) 4:11
03 Eventually (feat. Alex Rita & Bison) 3:52
04 On Top (feat. Zanillya, Capadose & the Ruffest) 3:55
05 Out of Sight (So Right) [feat. Rodes] 4:09
06 Take Off (feat. Princess Nokia) 4:03
07 Fluxo (feat. Mr. MFN eXquire, DonCesao & DJ Sliink) EXPLICIT 3:53
08 Whole Night (feat. Okmalumkoolkat & Lewis CanCut) 4:17
09 Paris — Marselha (feat. Cachupa Psicadelica) 4:37
10 Made of Gold (feat. SKIP&DIE & Fellow) 4:10
© 2015 ENCHUFADA / ℗ 2015 Enchufada
Review
By Gabriel Scheer, September 17, 2015; Score: *********
♦ Before covering Branko’s new album Atlas, let us cover a bit of ground. Fans of globally inspired dance music (think M.I.A.) will likely have already heard of the adventurous, and truly original kuduro/global dance band Buraka Som Sistema. If you don’t count yourself among that lucky group of listeners, they are highly recommended (give “Sound of Kuduro” a listen for a great starting point). The Portuguese group, which fused dance music with African indigenous sounds, has been around for 10 years and is in the midst of a going–into–hiatus tour. Their sound ranged across cultures but almost always wielded sharp, dance–influenced beats married with international collaborators (of which M.I.A. was one).
♦ Moving on, then: Atlas is the new album from João Barbosa, a.k.a. Branko, one of the creative driving forces of Buraka Som Sistema (BSS). Atlas is a compelling, approachable album featuring 20 collaborators from around the world. Indeed, the making of the album took place over five weeks as Branko traveled from Lisbon, Lisbon, São Paulo, NYC, Amsterdam, and finally Cape Town to work with more than 20 artists exploring a multitude of genres. The album floats across a web of intriguing and wide–ranging sounds, compelled throughout with an almost–always danceable drum track. Some tunes play with oft–ethereal, traditional instruments or vocalizations, as with eponymous album opener “Atlas” or “Fluxo” (which features the rapping of Mr. MFN eXquite, DonCesao & DJ Sliink), or “Whole Night.” Others, such as “Paris” or “On Top,” both of which course with an exotic, sexy heaviness, could easily pulse behind the gauzy façade of a lounge in any of a number of global nightclub.
♦ Fans of BSS will likely enjoy this album. Similarly, if you’ve enjoyed Santogold, MC Solaar, Nitin Sawhney, or M.I.A. you’ll likely find this another great addition to your ethnically–influenced, eminently danceable library. ♦ http://www.glidemagazine.com/
ROBIN MURRAY / FEATURES / 01 · 09 · 2015
♦ Lisbon is a hub for new music and fresh ideas.
♦ A port city, the area’s electronic music scene has quietly crafted a unique sound for over a decade now. Lisbon lynchpins Buraka Som Sistema are set to call it quits following a final tour, but this has only served to free up the cast for a plethora of solo projects.
♦ Branko is due to release his debut solo album later this year, a record informed by a personal musical journey which stretches around the globe.
♦ Clash invited the producer to chat a little about these influences, and the cast that join him on ‘Atlas’.
♦ While a lot of people might be familiar with artists like Mr. Carmack, Princess Nokia, Mr MFN eXquire, or Dj Sliink, others guests on ‘Atlas’ might be a bit less obvious and still building their path to people’s Spotify playlists or whatever you're using these days to listen to music. Personally, I felt it was more interesting to keep it as under the radar as possible and introduce you to some of the less known artists on ‘Atlas’.
Nonku Phiri
♦ I first heard Nonku on ‘On The Low’, a track by Cards On Spokes that also features Okmalumkoolkat. When I found out she was living in Cape Town I knew I had to hit her up to try and do something together in the studio. We met the day before our session at Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and it was easy to see we were both excited about working on music together.
♦ We did a whole song from scratch in one day along with Mr. Carmack (that was also in town to play at the festival), and what really blew my mind was the fact that she was trying to incorporate Venda, a less know language from the north of South Africa, because for her, those words made her come up with less common melodies. So we ended up using Venda for the verses of ‘Let Me Go’ pushing borders even further in terms of geographical coordinates on the song. ♦ http://www.clashmusic.com/
Label: http://www.enchufada.com/
Bandcamp: https://enchufada.bandcamp.com/album/atlas
_____________________________________________________________
Album release: September 04, 2015
Record Label: Enchufada
Duration: 40:39
Tracks:
01 Atlas (feat. The Clerk) 3:32
02 Let Me Go (feat. Nonku Phiri & Mr. Carmack) 4:11
03 Eventually (feat. Alex Rita & Bison) 3:52
04 On Top (feat. Zanillya, Capadose & the Ruffest) 3:55
05 Out of Sight (So Right) [feat. Rodes] 4:09
06 Take Off (feat. Princess Nokia) 4:03
07 Fluxo (feat. Mr. MFN eXquire, DonCesao & DJ Sliink) EXPLICIT 3:53
08 Whole Night (feat. Okmalumkoolkat & Lewis CanCut) 4:17
09 Paris — Marselha (feat. Cachupa Psicadelica) 4:37
10 Made of Gold (feat. SKIP&DIE & Fellow) 4:10
© 2015 ENCHUFADA / ℗ 2015 Enchufada
By Gabriel Scheer, September 17, 2015; Score: *********
♦ Before covering Branko’s new album Atlas, let us cover a bit of ground. Fans of globally inspired dance music (think M.I.A.) will likely have already heard of the adventurous, and truly original kuduro/global dance band Buraka Som Sistema. If you don’t count yourself among that lucky group of listeners, they are highly recommended (give “Sound of Kuduro” a listen for a great starting point). The Portuguese group, which fused dance music with African indigenous sounds, has been around for 10 years and is in the midst of a going–into–hiatus tour. Their sound ranged across cultures but almost always wielded sharp, dance–influenced beats married with international collaborators (of which M.I.A. was one).
♦ Moving on, then: Atlas is the new album from João Barbosa, a.k.a. Branko, one of the creative driving forces of Buraka Som Sistema (BSS). Atlas is a compelling, approachable album featuring 20 collaborators from around the world. Indeed, the making of the album took place over five weeks as Branko traveled from Lisbon, Lisbon, São Paulo, NYC, Amsterdam, and finally Cape Town to work with more than 20 artists exploring a multitude of genres. The album floats across a web of intriguing and wide–ranging sounds, compelled throughout with an almost–always danceable drum track. Some tunes play with oft–ethereal, traditional instruments or vocalizations, as with eponymous album opener “Atlas” or “Fluxo” (which features the rapping of Mr. MFN eXquite, DonCesao & DJ Sliink), or “Whole Night.” Others, such as “Paris” or “On Top,” both of which course with an exotic, sexy heaviness, could easily pulse behind the gauzy façade of a lounge in any of a number of global nightclub.
♦ Fans of BSS will likely enjoy this album. Similarly, if you’ve enjoyed Santogold, MC Solaar, Nitin Sawhney, or M.I.A. you’ll likely find this another great addition to your ethnically–influenced, eminently danceable library. ♦ http://www.glidemagazine.com/
♦ Lisbon is a hub for new music and fresh ideas.
♦ A port city, the area’s electronic music scene has quietly crafted a unique sound for over a decade now. Lisbon lynchpins Buraka Som Sistema are set to call it quits following a final tour, but this has only served to free up the cast for a plethora of solo projects.
♦ Branko is due to release his debut solo album later this year, a record informed by a personal musical journey which stretches around the globe.
♦ Clash invited the producer to chat a little about these influences, and the cast that join him on ‘Atlas’.
♦ While a lot of people might be familiar with artists like Mr. Carmack, Princess Nokia, Mr MFN eXquire, or Dj Sliink, others guests on ‘Atlas’ might be a bit less obvious and still building their path to people’s Spotify playlists or whatever you're using these days to listen to music. Personally, I felt it was more interesting to keep it as under the radar as possible and introduce you to some of the less known artists on ‘Atlas’.
Nonku Phiri
♦ I first heard Nonku on ‘On The Low’, a track by Cards On Spokes that also features Okmalumkoolkat. When I found out she was living in Cape Town I knew I had to hit her up to try and do something together in the studio. We met the day before our session at Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and it was easy to see we were both excited about working on music together.
♦ We did a whole song from scratch in one day along with Mr. Carmack (that was also in town to play at the festival), and what really blew my mind was the fact that she was trying to incorporate Venda, a less know language from the north of South Africa, because for her, those words made her come up with less common melodies. So we ended up using Venda for the verses of ‘Let Me Go’ pushing borders even further in terms of geographical coordinates on the song. ♦ http://www.clashmusic.com/
Label: http://www.enchufada.com/
Bandcamp: https://enchufada.bandcamp.com/album/atlas